Unionists make tactical voting call

Unionists were tonight urged to thwart Sinn Féin‘s chances of winning extra seats during next week‘s Northern Ireland Assembly Election.

As parties counted down to next Wednesday‘s crucial Assembly Election, Sinn Féin refused to comment on Ulster Unionist Sir Reg Empey‘s call on supporters to use their votes tactically.

The East Belfast Assembly candidate argued: “In some constituencies where, for instance, unionists might be in a minority, gains can be made by continuing to vote for parties who would perhaps keep Sinn Féin out of seats.

“Constituency by constituency people are going to have to look at it and make up their minds as to whether they can influence the final seats.”

In what is expected to be a tight election, how voters use Northern Ireland‘s complex proportional representation system could be crucial in determining the shape of the next Assembly.

Under the electoral system, voters mark the number one against their favourite candidate on the ballot paper, the figure two against their second favourite, a three against their third and keep going as far as they want.

This means if a candidate is elected or eliminated, their votes still count in the election and are transferred to other candidates in order of preference.

In a knife-edge vote, a second or third or even fourth preference could determine whether a seat falls into unionist, nationalist or cross community parties‘ hands.

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble again urged supporters to give the party their initial preferences and then to transfer their votes to other unionist candidates.

Nationalist SDLP leader Mark Durkan has appealed during the campaign to supporters to give their later preferences to pro-Good Friday Agreement parties and has sought transfers from other parties, including unionists.

Sinn Féin‘s Mitchel McLaughlin has also called on nationalists to give their first preferences to his party, then the SDLP and finally other pro-Agreement parties.

Seamus Mallon, the former deputy leader of the SDLP, today queried the Ulster Unionists‘ advice, arguing it was “bad politics” to urge support for pro-Union parties ahead of other pro-Agreement parties.

The Newry and Armagh MP said this meant pro-Good Friday Agreement unionists would be propping up the anti-Agreement Democratic Unionists.

“They are talking about voting for pro-Union candidates but they know as well as I do they are talking about voting DUP,” he said.

“I would say to David Trimble and to Dermot Nesbitt screw your courage to the sticking point and we will get through this.”

The Ulster Unionists launched a billboard campaign warning supporters ‘It‘s too important to stay at home‘ next Wednesday.

Mr Trimble said he was confident the party was going to win the battle in unionism.

He attacked the rival Democratic Unionists, accusing them of recycling old ideas on devolution and running the “most fraudulent campaign in Ulster‘s electoral history”.

Democratic Unionist leader, the Rev Ian Paisley said the repeated attacks on his party by pro-Good Friday Agreement opponents had far from damaged their cause.

“Time and time again the SDLP, Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionist Party have all been on message with their attacks on the DUP,” the North Antrim MP said.

“It is not quite clear whether these attacks are being orchestrated through (the UUP‘s) Cunningham House or (Sinn Féin‘s) Connolly House but it is no surprise to see nationalists urging transfers to the UUP.

“This is a concerted but ineffective strategy and simply makes it clear why unionists need a party which is not dependent on nationalists for its survival.”